“It Adds Time and So Much Information Is Lost”: Patterns of Interpreter Use and Non-English Language Skills Among Surgery Residents at an Academic Safety-Net Hospital
Surgery residents recognize the value of interpreters but describe time and equipment constraints that impede consistent use of language access across different clinical environments of surgical care. These findings suggest training and institutional support specific to the needs of surgery residents may improve language services utilization which is important for both regulatory compliance and patient safety.
Authors
- Melinda Maggard‐Gibbons
- Breena R. Taira (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2510-651X)
- Marcia M. Russell
- Mariah B Blegen
- Jesus R. Torres
Institutions
- Olive View-UCLA Medical Center (US)
- VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of surgical education
- Published
- 2026-02-16
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsurg.2026.103883
- Primary Topic
- Interpreting and Communication in Healthcare
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00